Claymated ‘Chicken Run’ Proves Fresh, Fun

“Chicken Run” should be titled “Coop 17.”

This Peter Lord/Nick Park animated feature, done in the same claymation style that Park uses in his award-winning “Wallace and Gromit” cartoons, plays like a virtual “Stalag 17”/”The Great Escape” meets “Watership Down.”

But whatever you call it, “Chicken Run” is lots of fun.

The prisoner-of-war theme predominates. Tweedy’s Farm is a cold, cruel place, its chicken coops set up in grim rows enclosed behind a high wire fence. Mr. Tweedy (voice by Tony Haygarth) stands watch, dogs at his feet. And every few days his wife (Miranda Richardson) calls roll — picking the least productive egg layer to serve as dinner.

Then there’s the “Watership Down” subtext: Many of the chickens simply accept their lot. It may not be much, but it’s all they’ve ever known.

One hen, though, stands out. Ginger (Julia Sawalha) dreams of a world where there are no farms nor farmers, where she can walk free on green grass. She is the farm’s Steve McQueen counterpart, continually trying to get away (to a “Great Escape”-type drum roll), continually failing and finding herself confined to the cooler (in this case, a coal bin).

Matters heat up when an American rooster named Rocky Rhodes (Mel Gibson) literally drops in. A circus runaway, Rocky wants to hide out. And so he agrees to teach Ginger and her friends how to fly, if they will conceal him. Despite initial misgivings, Ginger agrees to the plan.

Much of the movie entails the training the hens go through, along with the growing intimacy between Rocky and Ginger. Things get complicated because of both a secret involving Rocky (one that’s not difficult to figure out) and a marketing innovation that Mrs. Tweedy wants to employ.

At this point, the film becomes a high-stakes race: The hens either earn their freedom, or they become chicken pie.

“Chicken Run” is one of those rare treats: a British comedy that speaks well to American audiences. Even the heavy-accented dimwit Babs (Jane Horrocks) adds to the mood. “All me life flashed before me eyes,” she says after one death-defying exploit. “It was really borin’.”

And unlike some other recent animated features, this film succeeds in appealing to all ages, from 5-year-olds who will laugh at the sight of plump fryers doing aerobics to their parents who will get all the allusions and more adult-oriented jokes.

Even those who profess to not like claymation should be impressed with what co-directors Park and Lord have come up with. Through painstaking work, which involves moving each character a minuscule bit at a time, “Chicken Run” avoids the jerkiness of similar, non-computer-enhanced efforts.

Technology aside, however, the main reason the film works is because of Park and Lord’s direction. The story is familiar, but the way it’s told feels fresh. The sequence where Rocky’s secret is revealed, for example, is played with no dialogue — just the sound of thunder and rain, and with the other chickens wearing pained looks of shocked surprise. The effect is brilliant.

Most of all, the characters reveal themselves as complete creations, boasting expressions that are virtually human. Ginger — as just one example — can play hope, joy, anger, frustration and sadness with equal ease.

Even Steve McQueen wasn’t that versatile.

This sidebar appeared with the story: “Chicken Run” *** 1/2

Locations: Newport Highway, River Park Square, Spokane Valley, Coeur d’Alene Showboat Cinemas

Credits: Directed by Peter Lord and Nick Park, featuring the voices of Julia Sawalha, Mel Gibson, Miranda Richardson, Tony Haygarth, Jane Horrocks, Timothy Spall

Running time: 1:25

Rating: G